A Basic Case For Gun Control
Every once in a while, we’re reminded of how dystopian America can be. Mass shootings never went away during the coronavirus pandemic, but they were simmering under the surface. It was easy to forget about them.
They most recently returned to the public consciousness with a blitz of major incidents: 10 dead in Boulder, nine in Indianapolis, eight in Atlanta, and now six in Colorado Springs. These incidents initiated the same routines that we are all too familiar with, ones that slip the collective memory until the next mass shooting.
We hear promises of gun reform alongside the “thoughts and prayers” routine. The Onion posts its satirical headline again, one that has established itself so thoroughly that it has its own Wikipedia article. Republican politicians dance around the issue, criticize the Parkland kids, and wait for it to blow over so they can go back to harassing trans people.
It is exhausting. Gun control may be a complicated, multi-faceted issue, with no easy catch-all solutions, but at the same time it really isn’t. Take away as many guns as possible. Start by banning assault weapons and closing loopholes. You can still go hunting and own your personal weapon if you so choose. Ideally, ordinary citizens wouldn’t be able to own deadly weapons, but we’re past the point of being able to legislate our way out of that problem.